From little acorns grows a top business

A HARTLEPOOL landscaping company is gunning for national honours again after picking up yet another award.

Last year, we told how Acorn Landscapes had become a national winner.

It won a trophy for The Most Creative Use of a Marshalls Product in a competition run by paving stone specialists Marshalls.

And now the firm is back in the honours again, picking up two regional honours in the competition 12 months later.

The firm once again won The Most Creative Use of a Marshalls Product but added a second title of The Best Use of An Ethically Sourced Fairstone.

Both titles were handed out at an awards night held recently at the Durham County Cricket Club in Chester-le-Street.

Further honours could be on the way.

Company director Paul Turnbull said: “All the regional winners will now be considered and the best will go through to the national finals where they could win a Toyota Hilux truck.”

Marshalls is the UK’s leading manufacturer of superior natural stone and innovative concrete hard landscaping products. It supplies the construction, home improvement and landscape markets.

This last year has been good to Acorn Landscapes which is based on the Graythorp Industrial Estate in Hartlepool. It provides everything from driveways and patios to decking, fencing, ponds and water features.

Paul, who started the business in 2004, said: “We have increased the staff numbers and the work is going well.

“We have taken on two apprentices and there are seven lads here. There has been more work and we have started getting commercial work.”

He said contracts have included doing the groundwork at Hartlepool and District Hospice.

The list of honours for firm, which is one of more than 1,000 Marshalls registered companies, does not end there either.

Acorn Landscapes was also judged to be the Most Promising New Business at the Hartlepool Business Awards last May.

Judges praised Acorn Landscapes North East Ltd as “exciting” and praised its plans plus its brand reputation.

They said the firm had a bright future and promise of progressive growth.